How is technology a useful tool for active citizenship? Pupils assume the role of technology consultants reviewing citizenship projects. Small groups collaborate to make recommendations about how to incorporate technology to improve...

It's possible to promote inclusion and empathy on the Internet—it just takes effort! Scholars read and discuss a short story about being a friend online. Then, pupils role-play appropriate ways to respond to hate within a digital...

Young sociologists explore how local, state, and federal governments work. This very impressive and ambitious lesson requires pupils to contact government officials who represent them and their families. They research elections, and hold...

Students explore digital communication by participating in a critical thinking activity. In this Internet safety lesson plan, students discuss ways to protect their identity on the Internet as well as preserving friendships. Students...

To conclude their case study of media coverage of the shooting of Michael Brown by a Ferguson, Missouri, police officer, class members consider the role of citizen watchdogs in a democratic society, develop strategies for combating...

It's time to discover hashtag activism! Using an engaging resource, learners explore viral hashtag campaigns relating to diversity, identity, and justice. Next, they either design their own hashtag campaigns or respond to existing ones.

Your learners will take a trip through history as they peruse through historic digitalized newspapers, reading real articles from such historical periods in the United States as the Temperance movement...

Learners make a video. In this citizen lesson, students discuss what a good citizen is. Learners define what rights Americans have and write paragraphs about our rights and responsibilities. Students videotape their partner as they read...

Students explore the impact of technology around the world. In this globalization lesson, students read the noted articles about the effects of technology on day-to-day activities. Students then participate in a classroom discussion of...

Students examine themselves as being part of a global community. In this global community lesson, students investigate GPS systems. Students gain knowledge on how the device works. Students discover that satellites provide information...

Encourage class members to become engaged citizens by researching an issue they are passionate about and then producing a video to present to policymakers, the public, and their peers. Everything needed for the unit is contained in...

Through casual talk and structured interviews, 6th graders tap into the wealth of their senior pals' experiences. They write descriptive essays and narratives based on conversations with relatives or neighbors. They read selected...

Students explore personal safety by participating in an Internet activity. In this internet security lesson plan, students identify the uses of passwords and screen names in order to hide and secure their digital identities. Students...

Young activists research a community issue and apply the rights defined in the First Amendment to develop a proposal that would solve the issue—using Pinterest's board "The Freedom to Make A Change Posters" as examples, groups design a...

Combat hate online by bringing it into the light. Begin by giving learners a quiz, then lead a discussion based on the issues the quiz brought up. As a class, develop strategies to confront online hate. Assign different venues to groups...

Should schools be permitted to punish young scholars for off-campus cyberbullying? After reading a passage that details statistics about cyberbullying and Supreme Court rulings about schools' ability to limit student speech,...

Pupils analyze global issues. In this video podcasting lesson plan, pupils research Internet and print sources regarding selected global development issues. Pupils plan and create video podcasts that feature their research findings.

Here's a fun, creative approach to the profoundly important issue of human rights. Young citizens do three activities, two of which involve them finding images from magazines that reflect human rights of their...

Students study the qualities and responsibilities of becoming a good citizen. They, in teams, produce a video of one of the habits from the 7 Habits for Highly Effective Teens program.

Students analyze global issues. In this research skills lesson, students research selected global issues. Students create e-collages or digital videos that feature their selected issues.

Students investigate stereotypes by researching the elderly.  In this senior citizen lesson plan, students interview elders in a rest home and video tape their experience. Students present their videos to their interview subjects...

Learners examine cyberbullying. In this instructional activity on democracy, students discuss the different ways to deal with cyberbullying. They then take a position on the question of whether a democracy should allow schools to take...

What does it mean for a product or service to go viral? Scholars explore the topic by reading an article about the economics of social media. After reading, they complete a 3-2-1 data chart with information they learned from the text and...

Engage in activism, not slacktivism! Scholars discuss social media and the Internet as tools for social change. Next, they engage in a close reading strategy called Thinking Notes as they read an article about social media activism.